England open their 2026 World Cup campaign on Wednesday evening in Arlington, Texas in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal, that ended in heartbreak for the Three Lions.
Thomas Tuchel's side face perhaps their stiffest group stage test first up, with games against Ghana and Panama still to come. Croatia have made it difficult for England too often in the past, so there will be no underestimation of a side that has reached the semifinals in last two World Cups.
England's preparations have been eventful to say the least. They had a storm delay their last pre-tournament friendly in Orlando, they had their kit stolen in transit from Florida to their tournament base in Kansas City, and then they hunkered down amid tornado warnings over the weekend. However, Tuchel will be confident that the work done in recent camps will all come to fruition at the tournament.
There has also been an injury blow, as Tino Livramento picked up a calf injury in training on Sunday which has ruled him out of the tournament. Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah has been called up as his replacement.
Zlatko Dalic and this Croatia squad know what it takes to make deep runs at World Cups, but they haven't had the best pre-tournament build-up, in terms of results. Their friendly against Belgium in Rijeka was a bit ominous as they were distinctly second best in a 2-0 loss in that game.
Now, though, those results need to be forgotten, it's time for the real action for both England and Croatia.
Here's everything you need to know about Wednesday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Wednesday June 17, 4 p.m.
UK BST: Wednesday June 17, 9 p.m.
India IST: Thursday June 18, 1.30 a.m.
Australia AEST: Thursday June 18, 6 a.m
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Predicted Lineups
England
Jordan Pickford
Reece James | Ezri Konsa | Marc Guéhi | Nico O'Reilly
Declan Rice | Elliot Anderson
Bukayo Saka | Jude Bellingham | Anthony Gordon
Harry Kane
Croatia
Dominik Livakovic
Josip Stanisic | Josip Sutalo | Luka Vuskovic | Josko Gvardiol
Luka Modric | Mateo Kovacic
Mario Pasalic | Andrej Kramaric | Ivan Perisic
Ante Budimir
Talking Points
Can football, finally, come home?
Maybe, maybe not. But what's for certain is that England need to start well. They've done so in their last two tournaments, but in neither of those did they face an opposition of the calibre of Croatia.
England have been a mixed bag in recent times, and their two pre-tournament friendlies were too. They were as impressive in their 3-0 win against Costa Rica as they were uninspiring in their 1-0 win against New Zealand. It's been so for a year or so, as England have lost friendlies to Senegal and Japan in the last year, while completely dominating their group in qualification.
Tuchel is an excellent manager in knockout tournaments, as he's shown with multiple clubs around Europe -- particularly in guiding Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021, having made the final of that tournament with Paris-Saint Germain a year earlier.
A lot will rest on the shoulders of England captain Harry Kane, who didn't score in the group stages of the last World Cup. However, Kane is now coming off his arguably his best season in club football, leading the Bayern Munich line with aplomb. With Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson providing solidity at the base of midfield, it gives Kane the freedom to express himself, and he will need the likes of Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, and Jude Bellingham to make runs off him as well, to make him as effective as possible.
This is an attacking unit as good as any in the tournament, so if they are to bring football home, at long last, a lot will hinge on Kane and those around him.
Croatia have one step left to climb on the podium
Second in 2018, third in 2022... there's one position on that World Cup podium that Croatia haven't stood on. Just like in 2018 and 2022, they aren't really expected to be among the contenders for the biggest prize once again, but one cannot underestimate Croatia.
This isn't the team of 2018 or 2022, though. They have found life without some of their then-regulars a bit tough, and that was exemplified in EURO 2024, when they were knocked out in the group stages, behind Italy and Spain in their group.
Luka Modric is still going strong, and so are the likes of Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic and Andrej Kramaric, all of whom starred in their campaigns in 2018 and 2022. Como's young attacker Martin Baturina and Tottenham's young defender Luka Vuskovic are bright sparks that have come through in recent times, in a squad that has a good mix of youth and experience.
However, unlike 2018 and 2022, this Croatia side now doesn't really have the consistency of players fighting it out for the biggest prizes in world football in recent times -- other than Josko Gvardiol and Kovacic at Manchester City.
It will take a humongous effort, but this is Croatia and they have shown earlier that they can punch above their weight.